Who We Are | Where We Come From | Our Name | Things We Love | Our Board

Who We Are

The Thread is an Interfaith/Interspiritual seminary and community, a welcoming ‘learning and living space,’ where people cultivate authentic relationships and discern their sacred calling/vocation. Through spiritual practice, ritual, and deep self-inquiry, participants develop the awareness and Interspiritual fluency needed to embody Love and serve their diverse communities.

Founded upon Interspirituality, ancient and contemporary spiritual wisdom is explored and processed in the crucible of relationship. The lived experiences of every participant are deeply valued and necessary for alchemy (transformation) to occur, giving rise to new, emergent possibilities for ministering to a world in need of care, repair, and renewal.

Rooted in spiritual companionship, The Thread invites individuals to show up as they are while growing the capacity to engage complexity, navigate uncertainty, and respond with integrity to a changing world. This process of formation nurtures grounded presence, courage, humility, adaptability, and purpose, culminating in ordination.

The Thread has a mission to support the development of those who want to be the presence of love in the world. We want to live in a world where we build (and repair) relationships of solidarity, spiritually surrender, make space so we can show up messy and alive, and engage in meaningful ritual. With community as the container, we want to honor both ancient spiritual truths and practices while also honoring emerging truths and practices — all in service of building the courage needed to keep our hearts open in these times.

Where We Come From

The Thread Interfaith Seminary follows an interspiritual lineage first articulated by Brother Wayne Teasdale in The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World’s Religions (1999). Our beloved teacher, Reverend Diane Berke, founded the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary (2002), where many of us were trained and prepared for ministry. Her ethos—grounded in interspirituality, relational learning, and spiritual practice as a way of life—flows directly into The Thread’s vision and has been a living example of what it means to minister from a place of love.  

(Read the full story.)

Close-up of a sewing needle with yellow thread passing through its eye, inserted into a wooden spool of yellow thread against a black background.

Things We Love

interspirituality, belonging, activism, spaciousness, appreciation, authenticity, trustworthiness, somatic aliveness; the collective; solidarity and interconnection; earthy-ness; alleviation of unnecessary suffering; responsiveness to the moment; right relationship; healing/repair

Our Name

The Thread’s name was inspired by a William Stafford poem called “The Way It Is”:

“The Way It Is” by William Stafford

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

From Ask Me: 100 Essential Poems and used by kind permission of Graywolf Press.

Our Board

At The Thread, our board gathers not to govern from above, but to listen from within. We are guided by a spirit of shared stewardship—where leadership is circled up, not top down, and every decision is rooted in care for the whole. This board exists to serve the unfolding wisdom of the community, holding space for its longings, its questions, and its sacred becoming.

  • A woman with medium brown skin, wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, smiling, standing against a textured beige background.

    Board President: Rev. Dr. Jackie Jenkins

  • A smiling man wearing glasses and a religious collar, sitting in a church pew, with a colorful beaded necklace and a badge featuring a paw print.

    Board Vice President: Rev. Dr. Jerry Maynard

  • Man wearing a straw hat, white shirt, and orange tie smiling and resting his chin on his hand.

    Board Secretary: Rev. Dr. Don Ajené Wilcoxson

  • A person with light brown hair, wearing glasses and a dark shirt, poses in front of a light-colored wall with a small plant and a bookshelf in the background.

    Board Treasurer: Rev. Nathan DeMay

  • Close-up portrait of a smiling man with glasses, short brown hair, and a light beard, wearing a teal sweater.

    Rev. Dr. Curtis Jefferson

  • A smiling woman with short curly hair, wearing glasses, earrings, a necklace, and a floral top, standing outdoors with greenery and string lights in the background.

    Rev. Dr. Melissa Stewart

  • Generic user profile icon, gray silhouette of a person on a light gray background.

    More Board Members to be confirmed...

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